On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a group of distinguished  jurists and attorneys from all over the nation conducted a panel discussion on oral argument techniques, moderated by SMU Dedman School of Law Professor William V. Dorsaneo, III.

Students presented questions to the panelists and heard about the inner workings of the appellate process. Panelists  included:

Judges:
The Honorable Consuelo Callahan, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The Honorable Catharina Haynes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The Honorable Randy Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The Honorable Elizabeth Lang-Miers, Texas Court of Appeals, Fifth District
The Honorable Margret Robb, Indiana Court of Appeals, Fifth District
The Honorable James Kirsch, Indiana Court of Appeals, Second District
The Honorable Melissa May, Indiana Court of Appeals, Fourth District
The Honorable Marc Amy, Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit
The Honorable Tom Hollenhorst, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two

Council of Appellate Lawyers (CAL):
Kevin Newsom, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Kirsten Castaneda, Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys (CASA):
Rachel Ekery, Texas Supreme Court

Many of the panelists are active in the planning of the Appellate Judges Education Institute (AJEI) annual conference, organized by SMU Dedman School of Law. AJEI educates appellate judges, lawyers, and staff attorneys across the nation. To learn more about AJEI, visit: http://www.law.smu.edu/ajei/